Very nice summer weather, so I've driven the Volvo to work a few days during the past two weeks. It is only 3/4 of a mile - and the way to work is almost completely downhill, so mostly at idle.
I've noticed that the car doesn't want start after a few trips; and I've needed to resort to charging the battery. At first, I thought the control box / regulator needed adjustment, but that doesn't look to be a DIY. Then I thought that maybe I should change the size of the pulley on the generator so that it spins faster at slow speed - and that may still be an option. But then I thought the battery might be old and not holding a charge. I found a receipt indicating that the battery is only 13 years old, so just getting broken in. And by multi-meter, it seems to hold a charge over several days, anyway.
Today, I drove for 4 miles to put the car in storage. After parking for a few minutes, to move another car, I was unable to start the Volvo. Weak crank.
Fortunately, I had a few tools and pulled the battery terminal connections and scraped with a screwdriver for some shiny surfaces. Made a significant difference and I was able to start the car and move on. Can it just be slightly dirty (more tarnish than dirt) terminals? I'll clean them better and see.
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